Art by Ciaran Taylor

Biography and Exhibitions

I was born in Dublin
and I trained as an artist at the National College of Art and Design, graduating in
1985. Despite some success at first I had to face the fact that I
wasn't going to make a living as an artist. I had always loved science
and mathematics and I studied Applied Science at DIT and eventually
went on to do a Ph.D. in Mathematics at UCD. I now work as a
Mathematics Lecturer at IT Tallaght and I love the whole process of
communicating Mathematics to my students.

Training to be a mathematician meant that I
made no art for about twelve years. I thought I had given it up
altogether, but then in 2002 art came back and rapidly took very firm
hold of me! I have attended various short courses since then, and some
very inspiring teachers have shown me that Art College didn't teach me
as much as might have! I think this humbling realisation that there
were things I needed to learn, together with the discovery that
there were artists who had something valuable to teach me, has helped
my work to get better.

Education

When I left NCAD I thought my art education was finished, but in
2002, having almost completely given up art-making for over ten
years (while I studied Mathematics), I got started again with a
bronze casting summer course at NCAD with Vivian Hansbury. Doing a
taught course in bronze casting didn't bother me though: I'd
never done bronze casting before, so I knew I had plenty to learn.

I had always loved life drawing while I was at art college
and had done none since, so I was tempted to do a life painting
summer course. In this case I felt I knew what I was doing already
and I was hoping to be left alone to draw and paint the model. The
tutor on that course was Ann Lynch and I discovered that actually
she had quite a lot to teach me! I went on to do a lot of taught
courses and started to wonder why I hadn't been taught any of what
I was learning now when I was at art college. I'm still interested
in courses and workshops, but while I was once interested in
anything that allowed me to draw a life model I'm a lot choosier
about tutors now.

A Place of Work: a travelling exhibition of work by
artists
from New
Art Studios

1986

Studio '86, Temple Bar Studios

NCAD Decade Show, Guinness Hop Store

Group Show, Solomon Gallery

1985

Independent Artists

EVA 85

Collection of Vincent Ferguson, National Concert
Hall

Collections

The late Vincent Ferguson bought pieces from my diploma show and
degree show at NCAD. He assembled a very important and diverse
collection of modern Irish Art, which was partly dispersed by a large
sale after his death in 2007. I will always remember him fondly for
his practical encouragement so early in my career both in buying my
work and in showing it in two exhibitions of his collection.